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Forum January Circumambulating the Life of Muhammad (saw) - 1 from: Hazrat Inayat Khan: 'Unity of Religious Ideals' |
Muhammad (saw) is the one among the Prophets the account of whose life is to be found in history. Born of the family of Ishmael, Muhammad had in him the prophetic heritage, and before him that purpose to be fulfilled, the prophecy of which had been made by Abraham in the Old Testament. The Prophet became an orphan in his childhood, and had known what it is in the world to be without the tender care of the mother and without the protection of the father, when a child. And this experience was the first preparation for the child who was born to sympathize in the pain of others. He showed traces of sense of responsibility in his boyhood, when looking after his cows. A cowherd came and said: ‘I will look after your herd, and you may go to the town and enjoy yourself. And then you must take charge of my cows, and I will go there for some time.’ Young Muhammad said: ‘No, I will take charge of your herd. You may go, but I will not leave my charge.’ The same principle he showed all through his life. Some say once, others say twice, others say three times, a miracle happened - that the breast of the Prophet was cut open by the angels, and some say they took something away, and instantly his breast was healed. What was it? It was the poison which is to be found in the sting of the scorpion and the teeth of the serpent; it is the same poison which exists in the heart of a human being. All manner of prejudice, hatred, bitterness, in the form of envy and jealousy, are the small expressions of that poison, which is hidden in the heart of a human being. And when this poison is taken away in some form or other, then there is the serpent with its beauty and wisdom, without its poisonous teeth; and so it is with us humans. We meet with hardships in life, sometimes too hard to stand for the moment, but often such experiences become as higher initiations in the life of the traveler on the path. The heart of a human being which is the shrine of God, once purified of that poison, becomes the holy abode where God Himself resides. As a youth Muhammad traveled with his uncle, who went to Syria on a business trip; and he knew the shortcomings of human nature, which have a large scope to play their role in the world of business; he knew what profit means, what loss means, what both mean in the end. This gave him a wider outlook on life, where he saw how one is eager to profit by the loss of another: that human beings live in this world no better than the large and small fishes in the water, who live upon one another. When the time came to defend the country against a powerful enemy, young Muhammad stood shoulder to shoulder with the young men of his land to defend his people in their most terrible strife. His sincerity in friendship and honesty in his dealings endeared him to all those far and near, who called him by the name Amin, which means trusty, or trustworthy. His marriage with Khadijah showed him a man of devotion, a man of affection, an honorable man as a husband, as a father, and as a citizen of the town he lived in. The true sword of Mohammed was the charm of his personality.
Gayan - Chalas (these E-book are free of all charge - use their treasures well!) |
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